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2018 Atlantic hurricane season (Jarrell)
The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, breaking numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and catastrophic, with the storms of the season causing an estimated total of at least 2,000 deaths and approximately $167.25 billion in damage, making it the third costliest season on record, surpassed only by the 2017 and 2005 seasons. Of the storms that made landfall, six of the season's ten major hurricanes—Clarice, Faith, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah, and Violet—were responsible for the majority of the destruction. Dale was the most destructive storm that was not a major hurricane. Haiti, the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán and the U.S. states of Florida and Louisiana were each struck twice by major hurricanes; Cuba, the Bahamas, and Belize were each struck once and brushed by at least one more. The most notable effects of the season were felt on the United States Gulf Coast, where a 20-foot (6 m) storm surge from Hurricane Hailey caused severe flooding that destroyed most structures on the Mississippi coastline; subsequent levee breaches in New Orleans, Louisiana caused by the storm crippled portions of the city. In spite of the damages, the storm was seen as a testament to the improvements made to the area in the years after Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, Hurricane Dale combined with an extratropical system to cause deadly mudslides across Central America, with Guatemala being hardest-hit. The season officially began on June 1, 2018, and officially ended on November 30, 2018. However, there was tropical cyclone activity both before and after the official boundaries, the first occurrence since 2007. The season began nearly a month in advance with the formation of Subtropical Storm Adreanna on May 7, the first time a pre-season storm developed since 2016. Almost three weeks following the official end of the season on November 30, the last named storm, Delta, developed on December 18, and persisted as a hurricane until it transitioned to an extratropical cyclone on December 29. It was only the second year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the North Atlantic, a feat previously observed only in the 2008 season. Twenty-five tropical storms developed, making 2018 the second-most active season on record; of which a record-breaking seventeen became hurricanes. Of these, a record-breaking ten became major hurricanes, surpassing the record set in 1961 and later 2005 for the most category 3 or higher hurricanes to form in a single season. Three of the major hurricanes would reach Category 5 strength. Additionally, it is only the second hurricane season, Atlantic or Pacific, to exhaust the list of names and resort to Greek letters for naming. __TOC__ 'Seasonal forecasts' Ahead of and during the season, several national meteorological services and scientific agencies forecast how many named storms, hurricanes and major (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale) hurricanes will form during a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a particular country. These agencies include the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of the University College London, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Colorado State University (CSU). The forecasts include weekly and monthly changes in significant factors that help determine the number of tropical storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes within a particular year. Some of these forecasts also take into consideration what happened in previous seasons and an ongoing La Niña event that had recently formed in November 2017. On average, an Atlantic hurricane season between 1981 and 2010 contained twelve tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes, with an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) index of between 66 and 103 units. 'Preseason forecasts' The first forecast for the year was released by TSR on December 7, 2017, predicting a slightly above-average season in 2018, with a total of 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. On April 5, 2018, CSU released its forecast, predicting a slightly above-average season with 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. On the same day TSR released its second forecast, predicting a slightly-below average hurricane season, with 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes, the reduction in both the number and size of storms compared to its first forecast being due to recent anomalous cooling in the far northern and tropical Atlantic. Several days later, on April 16, North Carolina State University released its predictions, forecasting an above-average season, with 14–18 named storms, 7–11 hurricanes, and 3–5 major hurricanes. On April 19, The Weather Company released its first forecasts, predicting 2018 to be a near-average season, with a total of 13 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. On May 24, NOAA released their first forecasts, calling for a near to above average season in 2018. 'Mid-season outlooks' On August 2, 2018, after an extraordinarily active early season, NOAA released an updated outlook on the remainder of the season. The outlook called for from 18 to a record-tying 21 tropical storms, 9 to 11 hurricanes, and 5 to 7 becoming major hurricanes. The ACE value of the overall season is expected to be roughly twice those of a normal season. While June and July had been unusually active, August and September were expected to contain the peak of seasonal activity as in most seasons. NOAA noted a higher than normal confidence in the forecast of above-normal activity. 'Systems' ImageSize = width:700 height:250 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/05/2018 till:31/01/2019 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/05/2018 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤39_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(118–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–129_mph_(178–208_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130–156_mph_(209–251_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥157_mph_(≥252_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:10 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:07/05/2018 till:10/05/2018 color:TS text:Adreanna (SS) from:14/06/2018 till:17/06/2018 color:TS text:Blake (TS) from:05/07/2018 till:18/07/2018 color:C5 text:Clarice (C5) from:07/07/2018 till:10/07/2018 color:C1 text:Dale (C1) from:13/07/2018 till:17/07/2018 color:TS text:Emma (TS) from:16/07/2018 till:24/07/2018 color:C4 text:Faith (C4) from:25/07/2018 till:31/07/2018 color:C2 text:Gavin (C2) from:06/08/2018 till:16/08/2018 color:C4 text:Hailey (C4) from:09/08/2018 till:10/08/2018 color:TD text:Nine (TD) from:15/08/2018 till:17/08/2018 color:TS text:Isaiah (TS) from:22/08/2018 till:25/08/2018 color:TS text:Jade (TS) barset:break from:25/08/2018 till:01/09/2018 color:C3 text:Kristen (C3) from:28/08/2018 till:05/09/2018 color:C3 text:Lucas (C3) from:02/09/2018 till:16/09/2018 color:C4 text:Michaela (C4) from:06/09/2018 till:09/09/2018 color:TS text:Noah (TS) from:11/09/2018 till:26/09/2018 color:C2 text:Olivia (C2) from:13/09/2018 till:17/09/2018 color:TD text:Seventeen (TD) from:16/09/2018 till:24/09/2018 color:C1 text:Paige (C1) from:23/09/2018 till:04/10/2018 color:C3 text:Ricky (C3) from:28/09/2018 till:07/10/2018 color:C5 text:Sarah (C5) from:09/10/2018 till:19/10/2018 color:C2 text:Tyler (C2) from:13/10/2018 till:23/10/2018 color:C5 text:Violet (C5) barset:break from:24/10/2018 till:26/10/2018 color:TD text:Twenty-three (SD) from:29/10/2018 till:29/10/2018 color:TD text: barset:break barset:skip from:31/10/2018 till:02/11/2018 color:C1 text:William (C1) from:08/11/2018 till:13/11/2018 color:C3 text:Alpha (C3) from:17/11/2018 till:20/11/2018 color:TS text:Beta (TS) from:19/11/2018 till:27/11/2018 color:TS text:Gamma (TS) from:18/12/2018 till:29/12/2018 color:C1 text:Delta (C1) bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/05/2018 till:31/05/2018 text:May from:01/06/2018 till:30/06/2018 text:June from:01/07/2018 till:31/07/2018 text:July from:01/08/2018 till:31/08/2018 text:August from:01/09/2018 till:30/09/2018 text:September from:01/10/2018 till:31/10/2018 text:October from:01/11/2018 till:30/11/2018 text:November from:01/12/2018 till:31/12/2018 text:December from:01/01/2019 till:31/01/2019 text:January 2019 TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(618,30) text:"Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale)" 'May, June and July' at peak strength on July 14]] On May 7, nearly a month prior to the official start of the season, Subtropical Storm Adreanna formed, becoming the first pre-season storm since 2016. The system developed and meandered off the Southeastern U.S. coast before it made landfall as a subtropical depression on May 9. Damage from Adreanna was moderate, although three people drowned when a boat capsized off the coast of South Carolina due to rough surf. Tropical Storm Blake formed in the Gulf of Mexico to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula on June 14, and traveled in a generally northeastern direction until in made two landfalls in Louisiana on June 16. Several coastal areas experienced flooding due to the storm, and two people were killed. Hurricane Clarice formed in the Atlantic on July 5. It entered the Caribbean Sea and quickly intensified to a Category 4 storm. Clarice eventually reached Category 5 intensity, breaking the records set by Hurricane Emily in 2005 for July intensity when its pressure reached 923 mbar (hPa) on July 14, as well as becoming the earliest such storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. Clarice made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula at peak strength before later hitting Tamaulipas at Category 4 strength. Clarice killed at least 57 people over the course of its path. An estimated $1.89 billion (2018 USD) in damage was reported. making landfall in Veracruz]] A weak tropical wave became embedded within a large convective area of showers and thunderstorms, and made landfall on the Yucatan peninsula. Entering the Bay of Campeche, the system quickly organized into a Tropical Storm by July 7, receiving the name Dale upon doing so. Dale briefly reached hurricane strength before making landfall north of Veracruz, Veracruz, on July 9. Dale was a part of a large system of rainstorms, which dropped torrential rainfall that caused catastrophic flooding and mudslides over southern Mexico and Central America. Initial estimates placed a death toll of at least 1,000 fatalities due to the extensive flooding, but a final death toll of 967 was confirmed, of which 80–100 were directly attributed to Dale. Tropical Storm Emma formed in the Gulf of Mexico on July 13. The storm tracked to the west-northwest, and ultimately reached a peak strength that was just below hurricane status by the time it made landfall near Port O'Connor, Texas on July 16. Emma dropped moderate rainfall that generally proved beneficial towards alleviating drought conditions, though localized flooding occurred; which in turn caused the storms's only fatalities through a traffic accident. On July 16, Hurricane Faith formed in the eastern Caribbean; it crossed Jamaica before intensifying into a Category 4 hurricane, among the strongest observed in July with a pressure of 937 mbar (hPa). Faith struck Cuba, then later made a final landfall on the Florida Panhandle, both of which were at Category 4 intensity. The hurricane killed 63 people (mostly in the United States) and caused $32.6 billion (2018 USD) in damage in Cuba and the United States. making landfall on the Gulf Coast]] Hurricane Gavin formed just east of the Lesser Antilles on July 25, and became a Category 1 hurricane by July 27, just before it made landfall at Vieques, Puerto Rico. After crossing the nation, Gavin began to accelerate under the influence of a trough over the Eastern United States. Shortly after brushing by Bermuda, Gavin peaked as a Category 2 hurricane on July 30. Cooler waters then rapidly weakened the system, which became extratropical the following day. 'August' August began disastrously, with the formation of Hurricane Hailey on August 6. Forming well to the east of the Lesser Antilles, the storm quickly reached Category 2 strength before it impacted the island chain, with a landfall at Guadeloupe at that strength on August 9. Hailey underwent another bout of rapid strengthening in the Caribbean, and reached Category 3 intensity before it made landfall in the Dominican Republic two days later. Another landfall in Cuba occurred the following day after Hailey had become a severely weakened tropical storm. The storm then entered the Florida Straits and reached the Gulf of Mexico on August 13, which allowed for re-intensification. Crossing over the warm waters of the Loop Current, Hailey rapidly strengthened to a high-end Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 155 mph and a minimum pressure of 922 mbar (hpa). The storm retained this strength as it made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. A storm surge in excess of 20-ft (6m) caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Within hours, levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Louisiana were partially topped by the surge, ultimately flooding limited sections of the city. Wind damage was reported well inland, impeding relief efforts. Hailey was responsible for $37.47 billion (2005 USD) in damage, making it the sixth-costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. 423 people were confirmed dead across six countries, 213 of which were in the United States. just prior to landfall in Louisiana on August 15]] Tropical Depression Nine formed northeast of the Lesser Antilles on August 9 but dissipated on the next day without having threatened land. A non-tropical low developed into Tropical Storm Isaiah on August 15. The storm dropped some rain on Bermuda as it curved to the northeast; and in the midst of a hostile environment, transitioned to an extratropical cyclone on August 17, which impacted Newfoundland on August 19. 1 fatality and $117 million in damages occurred due to the system's passage through Canada. On August 22, Tropical Storm Jade formed 225 mi (362 km) east-southeast of Bermuda. The storm moved east-northeast, and eventually weakened to a subtropical depression on August 25 before degrading to an open trough that same evening. It never posed a threat to land. Hurricane Kristen formed east of the Windward Islands on August 25, and turned northeast towards the Greater Antilles, intensifying to a Category 1 hurricane as it did so. It made landfall in Haiti on August 28. Emerging in the Atlantic the next day, the weakened system began to quickly strengthen, and became a major hurricane on August 31. Entering the cooler waters of the central Atlantic, Kristen once again weakened, and became extratropical on September 2. A total of 27 people were reported dead because of Hurricane Kristen, mostly in Haiti. Another tropical wave behind that of which became Kristen quickly developed into Lucas in the eastern Caribbean on August 28. Upwelling from the former storm created an unusually favorable environment, which allowed for Lucas to rapidly intensify, becoming a Category 3 hurricane on August 30 just prior to landfall in Western Haiti. A series of consecutive landfalls in Cuba and the Bahamas ensued. After affecting these nations, Lucas once again reached Category 3 strength before making a close pass to the Outer Banks while weakening. The storm became extratropical on September 5. 'September' as it made landfall at Cape Canaveral on Septemebr 13]] The first storm to form in September was Hurricane Michaela, which developed well to the west of the Cape Verde islands on September 2. Traveling over the open Atlantic, the storm quickly intensified, becoming a major hurricane by September 4. After a slight period of weakening, the hurricane reached its peak strength as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 145 mph (230 km/h) before it made several landfalls in the northern Lesser Antilles and Bahamas. Retaining its status as a Category 4 storm, the hurricane made its final landfall around Cape Canaveral, Florida. Effects from the hurricane were felt far and wide: damages totaled over $30 billion across at least eight nations, as well as 56 confirmed fatalities across its long path. Tropical Storm Noah formed southwest of Bermuda on September 6 and moved to the northeast. Noah became extratropical on September 9; the storm had prompted tropical storm watches in Bermuda, which were canceled after the storm began to move on a northeasterly course, yielding no effects on land. Hurricane Olivia formed as a tropical depression to the north of the Lesser Antilles on September 11. It became a tropical storm north of Puerto Rico before strengthening into a large Category 2 storm. Weakening ensued, and with a mixture of steering currents and interaction with a cold front, the hurricane raked a long stretch of the southern North Carolina coast with heavy winds and storm surge from September 17 to September 22. The hurricane regained its Category 2 strength and made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina before becoming extratropical on September 25 and dissipating inland. Total damage estimates were around $227 million (2018 USD). A tropical wave developed into Tropical Depression Seventeen northwest of Cape Verde on September 13. Upon developing, the depression had a small area of convection but remained otherwise ill-defined. In an environment with cool ocean temperatures, the depression eventually degenerated to a tropical wave on September 17. Hurricane Paige developed on September 16, to the west-southwest of Cape Verde. Traveling through the open Atlantic as a tropical storm, Paige eventually became a minimal hurricane while in the vicinity of the Lesser Antilles. Passing between Martinique and St. Lucia on September 21, the system became a tropical storm once more as it entered a very hostile environment in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Shortly after midnight on September 24, the system degenerated into a open tropical wave. The storm's large size resulted in widespread but minimal impacts across the Lesser Antilles, which totaled in about $2 million in damages and 2 fatalities. Hurricane Ricky developed to the west of Cape Verde on September 23 and traveled to the west-northwest. Ricky reached its peak strength as a Category 3 hurricane on September 28 while it passed through areas that had been devastated by Hurricane Michaela just weeks earlier. Interaction with cooler air weakened the storm, which regained its major hurricane status on September 30. Turning to the northeast, Ricky began to weaken, and made a pass by Bermuda before it became extratropical on October 3. The worst damage associated with Ricky was through exacerbation of the aftermath of Michaela, which totaled to $6.07 million in damages and 13 fatalities. at peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on October 3]] Hurricane Sarah formed as a tropical storm over the Bahamas on September 28. The storm reached Category 2 intensity as it moved south of the Florida Keys on October 2. Rapid intensification ensued as Sarah moved into the Gulf of Mexico, and it became a Category 5 hurricane on October 3, becoming the tenth (now eleventh) most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin. Sarah made landfall near Morgan City, Louisiana on October 5. Major flooding was reported in the Moragn City area, while Cameron, Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary parishes in Louisiana were devastated. Offshore oil platforms throughout Sarah's path also suffered significant damage. Thirty-seven people were killed by Sarah's direct effects, and total damage from the storm was estimated at about $20.9 billion (2018 USD). 'October' Hurricane Tyler was the first October storm, reaching tropical storm status on October 11. Wind shear initially hampered further development, and the storm became a depression once again that evening. The following day, Tyler regained tropical storm strength and gradually gained strength until reaching its peak strength as a Category 2 hurricane on October 15. Entering cooler waters, the storm's intensity leveled off, and eventually underwent extratropical transition on October 20. The storm never threatened land during its existence. at peak intensity of 877 mbar (25.9 inHg)]] Hurricane Violet formed on October 13 in the western Caribbean southwest of Jamaica and rapidly strengthened. On October 16 it became the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin, with 195 mph (315 km/h) winds and a central pressure of 877 millibars (25.9 inHg). It then moved slowly and struck Quintana Roo on October 22 as a Category 2 hurricane, causing very heavy damage to Cancún and Cozumel. After emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, Violet sharply changed directions and passed through the Florida Straits, moving north of Cuba and south of Florida on the 20th as a Category 4 storm, then making landfall on Great Abaco in The Bahamas before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean and becoming extratropical. Violet is directly credited with 74 deaths; total damage is estimated at around $18 billion (2018 USD), mostly in Mexico and Cuba. Subtropical Depression Twenty-three formed southwest of Cape Verde on October 24. The system dissipated late on the 26th. Its remnants soon merged with another system and eventually contributed to the formation of Hurricane William. Hurricane William initially formed over unfavorably cold water in the East Atlantic near the Canary Islands on October 29 as a tropical depression and degenerated into a tropical wave before reforming October 31. Shortly thereafter, it briefly strengthened into a hurricane. Rapid weakening ensued, and William became extratropical on November 3. The remnant system passed through the Canaries with light impact. 'November and December' Tropical activity moderately declined as the season wound down. Hurricane Alpha formed in the southern Caribbean on November 8 and strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall in Belize on November 12. The storm was responsible for twenty-seven fatalities and more than $360 million in damage across four countries. Tropical Storm Beta formed from a strong non-tropical low near the Azores that slowly drifted eastward and attained tropical characteristics while entering marginally warmer waters. The storm led a brief existence before becoming extratropical once more and making landfall at the Iberian Peninsula, causing widespread but minor damage and three fatalities. Tropical Storm Gamma formed in the eastern Atlantic on November 19 and executed a counter-clockwise loop before moving westward and later northeastward. It transitioned to an extratropical system on November 27 and brushed by the Azores to minimal effect. Hurricane Delta became the final storm of the season when it formed on December 18, in the midst of hostile environment in the middle of the Atlantic. It reached hurricane strength on December 20 and defied forecasting by persisting for over a week before dissipating. 'Impact' , Florida from Hurricane Faith]] The storms of the season were extraordinarily damaging and were responsible for significant loss of life. Total damage is estimated to be about $167.25 billion (2018 USD), and a minimum of 2,000 people were reported dead. However, due to uncertainties in the death toll caused by Dale and Hailey, the death toll from the season could be as high as 3,000 people. The hardest-hit area was the United States Gulf Coast from eastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle. First to strike the area was Hurricane Faith, which caused $32.6 billion in damage along the Florida Panhandle. Hurricane Hailey caused catastrophic damage to the Gulf Coast, devastating a long stretch of coast along Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with a 20-foot (6 m) storm surge. Wind damage was reported well inland, slowing down recovery efforts. Storm surge also topped levees in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, flooding about 10% of the city. Total damage has been estimated at $37 billion and at least 200 people were killed by the storm; Hailey is the seventh costliest hurricane in U.S. history, and the deadliest hurricane in the U.S. since Herman from the previous year. While the damage was significant, it was looked at by many as a massive improvement to the city's hurricane preparedness after Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Sarah struck near the same area, exacerbating the effects of the earlier storm, and caused extensive damage along the coastlines of Louisiana and Texas; total damage is estimated at about $20.9 billion. Tropical Storms Blake and Emma also struck the Gulf Coast but caused much lighter damage. ]] The Mexican state of Quintana Roo was also heavily hit, suffering billions of dollars in damage when Hurricanes Clarice and Violet both made landfall between Cozumel and Cancún. Violet was particularly devastating, lashing the area with major hurricane-force winds for nearly a full day. Violet caused widespread heavy damage in south Florida, causing $11 billion in damage total in the United States. Hurricanes Faith, Hailey, and Sarah had brushed by the same area earlier, causing lesser (but still significant) damage. Southeastern North Carolina suffered widespread damage from the slow-moving Hurricane Olivia; damages from that storm were finalized at $1.6 billion. The remainder of the Atlantic coast escaped the major storms, although some regions were affected by the remnants of several storms (including Adreanna, Blake, Hailey, Lucas, and Olivia). Southern Mexico, along with portions of Central America, suffered heavy flooding and mudslides from Hurricane Dale and nearby nontropical rains. Over 900 people were confirmed dead in total, with some towns completely wiped out, though most of these deaths were not directly related to the hurricane. Central America also suffered flooding from Hurricane Violet, and Belize was struck directly by Hurricane Alpha. Alpha caused $279 million (2018 USD) in damage across the country. The island of Hispaniola was struck repeatedly. Hurricane Hailey made landfall in the Dominican Republic as a major hurricane, killing at least 300 people. Hurricanes Kristen and Lucas made landfall in Haiti within days of each other, killing over 200 people between the two systems (most of these coming from Lucas). The outer bands of Hurricane Michaela produced moderate rainfall in the northern portions of the island. The Lesser Antilles saw repeated strikes from the storms at the height of the season. The Leeward Islands were battered by Hurricanes Hailey, Michaela and Ricky, and the Windward Islands were struck by Hurricanes Clarice and Paige, as well as Hurricanes Gavin and Kristen (while tropical storms). Cuba was struck by Hurricane Faith at its first intensity maxima, causing $1.1 billion in damage; it was the worst hurricane to hit Cuba in over a decade. Some areas of Cuba also suffered heavy damage from Hurricanes Hailey, Sarah and Violet. Unusual impacts were felt in Europe and nearby islands from four storms. Tropical Storm Isaiah intensified and affected northern Europe as a vicious extratropical storm, while Hurricane William struck the Canary Islands just after becoming extratropical. The precursor to Tropical Storm Beta struck the Azores, and after its naming and final extratropical transition, struck the Iberian Peninsula. In January 2019, after the end of the calendar year, the extratropical remnant of Hurricane Delta affected similar areas that Isiah had previously struck. Energy production in the Gulf of Mexico declined in the wake of Hailey and Sarah by approximately 21% — the output dropped to 378,633 barrels per day from the original 1.75 million barrels of oil produced each day. The Eagle Ford Rock Formation (shale oil and gas) in southern Texas reduced production by 100,000 to 700,000 bpd, according to the Texas Railroad Commission. Many energy-related ports and terminals closed, delaying about fourteen crude oil tankers. About 2.25 million bpd of refining capacity was offline for several days; that is about 12% of total US capacity, with refineries affected at Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas as well as Lake Charles and New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to the shutdown in refineries, gas prices did see an increase nationwide. However, the increase was not as extensive as Hurricane Katrina due to the development of more fuel-efficient vehicles as well as fracking technology having been refined since Katrina to allow oil drilling in shale areas such as the Marcellus Formation. Nonetheless, the spike brought the highest gas prices in two years. Agriculture in multiple countries was hard hit by extremely heavy rains from severe storms during the season. Early in the season, Hurricane Faith caused significant damage to various citrus and vegetable crops in Cuba, though the damage was not crippling. In Central America, Hurricanes Clarice and Dale (and the latter's associated nontropical storms) dropped upwards of 20 inches (500 mm) of rain, causing, in addition to severe flash floods and mud slides, heavy damage to crops, especially to the banana and coffee crops, which destroyed much of the growing population well before harvest. This caused significant economic disruption in Guatemala and surrounding nations, as the rural economies are highly dependent on the coffee and banana crops. When Hurricane Alpha struck Belize later in the season, it also caused heavy damage to the banana crop in the nation and surrounding countries; but the harvests had already ended, mitigating economic disruption. 'Records and notable events' The 2018 season broke numerous records for tropical cyclone activity, though these were reflected more in storm intensities rather than the overall cyclone count. During the season, 25 storms were named, the second-highest amount in any previously recorded Atlantic season. Hurricanes Clarice, Sarah and Violet attained Category 5 intensity, and Hurricanes Sarah and Violet became the tenth (at the time)- and overall-most intense recorded Atlantic storms, respectively; with Violet's 877 mbar intensity breaking the 13-year-old record of Hurricane Wilma. The 2018 season is the only season on record with three Category 5 storms on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale; though the highest number of storms of this intensity occurred in 2005, with 4 attaining this status during that year. In addition, Hurricanes Faith, Hailey and Michaela reached Category 4 status, bringing the total number of Category 4+ storms to six, breaking the record set by the 1999 and 2005 seasons of the highest amount of storms of that strength. 'Forecasting uncertainty' 'Storm names' The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Atlantic in 2018. The names not retired from this list will be used again in the 2024 season. It was the first (and only, in the cases of Clarice, Dale, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah and Violet) use for all of these names since the post-2016 naming change, except for Faith, which was used in 1966. Greek Names 'Retirement' On March 20, 2019, at the 41st session of the RA IV hurricane committee, the World Meteorological Organization retired seven names: Clarice, Dale Faith, Hailey, Michaela, Sarah, and Violet from its rotating naming lists due to the number of deaths and amount of damage they caused, and they will not be used again for another Atlantic hurricane. They will be replaced with Candice, Douglas, Frieda, Harmony, Morgan, Sabrina, and Virgo, respectively, for the 2024 season. This surpassed the previous record for the number of hurricane names retired after a single season, five, held by the 2005 season. Furthermore, the name Olivia was moved to the list of names for the 2022 season to avoid confusion with the Eastern Pacific storm naming, as 'Olivia' was used in both the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic during 2018, despite not being the same system (it was decided at the 22nd hurricane committee in 2000 that tropical cyclones that moved from the Atlantic to the Eastern Pacific basin and vice versa would no longer be renamed). 'Season effects' This is a table of all the storms that have formed in the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. It includes their duration, names, landfall(s), denoted in parentheses, damages, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all the damage figures are in 2018 USD.